The investigative work of the fourth case registered before the court, which concerns the naturalization of foreign businessmen and investors, is enormous, the Police spokesman, Christos Andreou, told KYPE, noting that the witness material that will be found before the court consists of two hundred box files .
Speaking to KYPE, on the occasion of the case registered last Friday in the District Court of Nicosia and concerning naturalizations in the context of the Cyprus Investment Program, Mr. Andreou said that this case is the 4th to be registered before a court, to note that it is under investigating, at the same time, a significant number of other cases.
"It was a massive case and the evidence consists of 200 box files. These cases are always investigated in consultation with the guidelines of the Legal Service. From the volume of testimonial material you realize how much work was done", said Mr. Andreou.
According to Christos Andreou, the defendants in the case are ten persons, specifically eight natural persons and two other legal persons, who face a total of 59 charges, which concern, among other things, conspiracy to extort and corruption.
Among the natural persons accused of the specific offenses and who will appear before the District Court of Nicosia on October 30, 2024, is the former Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Marios Dimitriadis, who in a post yesterday on his personal Facebook page , refers to his "pre-decided targeting" and "false allegations and malicious accusations", while also speaking of "distortion of reality".
“Some believed that I would be the victim of their own faults, mistakes and omissions. But it will turn out not to be so. I have absolute trust in Justice, knowing that in the end truth and justice always prevail", he says, among other things.
It is noted that the presumption of innocence applies to all defendants, until proven guilty by the court, beyond all reasonable doubt.
The investigation of the specific case began in July 2021, on the occasion of the report of the three-member committee, headed by the then President of the Capital Market Commission, Dimitra Kalogirou, which was established by the Council of Ministers in November 2019, to check the naturalization of investors.
The NY meeting is over
In the meantime, the meeting that started at 10:00 am in Nomiki, on cases of naturalization of foreign businessmen and investors, ended shortly after noon on Tuesday.
As he told KYPE, Mr. Andreou is currently under investigation and other cases, which were under the microscope of the meeting at the Legal Service, under the Attorney General, Giorgos Savvidis.
The Chief of Police participated in the meeting with the investigators and the ongoing naturalization cases, which are under investigation and are at an advanced level, were discussed.
As the CYPE is informed, during the meeting, instructions were given by the Legal Service, for further handling of these cases.
The meeting was held as part of the regular meetings convened by the Legal Service for these cases.
"The legal process is the only institutional way to reveal the truth" says the Law Office of Andreas Dimitriadis & SIA DEPE
Besides, in today's announcement, the Law Office of Andreas Dimitriadis & SIA DEPE states that "the initiation of the legal process will give us the opportunity, with positions and arguments, to highlight the reality of the facts, in the face of false and guided testimonies, unsupported cases , flimsy assessments and arbitrary conclusions".
"The pursuit is clear. An unprecedented, limitless targeting of us, serving other purposes. The purpose is to shift the blame for the misapplication, imperfections and inherent - by design - problems of the naturalization program. Some are looking for scapegoats. We are not going to become a sacrifice on the altar of other interests", he notes.
He adds that they have confidence in the judiciary and adds that "the legal process is the only institutional path that will lead to the revelation of the truth".